Finding jobs with vacation flexibility

[phantasmagoric]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I am currently PGY4 in a program in the Midwest. I am trying to find jobs in VHCOL area (Bay Area specifically) because my family/friends reside there. However, as I have no professional contacts at all in California, I have been feeling pretty lost with the process.

I am open to most settings, but what I am really hoping for is some flexibility in regards to vacation time (perhaps 2-3 months total in a year, can be split up), even at cost of lesser pay. I would imagine that this would be difficult to find with W2 positions, so I am not sure whether this means that I would have to take up some sort of 1099 gig and/or locums or 7d on/7d off schedule.

My ideal set-up would be 1099 gig which is around 0.8 FTE with block scheduling (ie. another 1099 contractor fills in for the 2-3 months that I am gone), but not sure whether jobs like this exist…

Which types of settings (e.g. correctional, inpatient, group outpatient practices, IOP, PHP etc) would be most amenable to what I want – ie. 1099 gigs with 0.8 FTE and/or 7d on/7d off? And how would you go about finding hospitals/groups that offer this?

I would appreciate any ideas. Thank you in advance

 

[FlowRate]

Rare outpatient positions can have 7-8 weeks of PTO, although 4-6 is more standard. Usually an FTE decrease in an employed outpatient setting is about reducing your hours per week, not bundling for continuous time off.

 

[Ahamis]

1099 could be an option. You work with a limited amount of weeks/months and let them know you will be off for certain period of time or when the contract ends.

7 on/7 off is also a possibility for lots of time off.

 

[comp1]

This sounds very locums to me. Salaried jobs can handle 3 month absences on rare occasions like birth of a kid, but it is not something most systems are looking for regularly.

 

[Bartelby]

VA physicians get 26 days of leave (not including sick leave) and 11 federal holidays. Not totally what you are looking for, but I think that is one of the best paid leave packages in widely available W-2 employment.

You could even take a 0.8 FTE role at the VA, but if you are a single income household money would be relatively tight in the Bay area with that plan.

I would also take a look into county mental health jobs. Some of those in the Bay area pay well, and there might be some room to negotiate more leave time for lower pay.

 

[phantasmagoric]

Truly appreciate all of your responses - very helpful. It seems like I would have to look primarily for a 1099 or locums position.

You could even take a 0.8 FTE role at the VA, but if you are a single income household money would be relatively tight in the Bay area with that plan

When you say 0.8 FTE, does it mean 4 day work week, reduced hours or something else? Fortunately, I have some money saved up and we are also very frugal, so hopefully we can manage with less than average pay.

I will also definitely look into county mental health jobs - hopefully some of them would offer 1099 positions with more flexibility.

 

[2025DandW]

Locums, or possibly W2, corrections or DSH would allow this.

eta: I missed the part about splitting up your time. You can make over $500k/year as either a locum or W2 at CDCR or DSH with this amount of time off. As a W2, you would have to do call, but you could make more than a locum with the addition of call. There are prisons and at least one DSH facility in the bay area.

 

[mistafab]

Easiest local method is to set up a bunch of 1099 shift work and just don't take shifts for a quarter. ER, inpatient weekend, or PRN for some local spots or academic departments as 1099 might let you do something like this. You'll probably have a low annual income with this method unless you absolutely bust it at multiple spots during periods you work.

Otherwise, the easiest method is just do locums contracts and take planned breaks when they inevitably end. You'll probably make decent money but would need to be okay being around the country. Just understand you'd spend a lot of time away from your Bay Area apartment.

 

[Bartelby]

For a 0.8 FTE role it would depend on what you want and what the service you work for would tolerate. What I would envision is 4 days per week, which will likely be workable for most outpatient roles. That would give you a 3-day weekend each week along with what amounts to about 2 months worth of leave time. That sounds like a pretty pleasant setup to me as long as the finances work out given the high cost of living in the Bay area.

 

[finalpsychyear]

I am currently PGY4 in a program in the Midwest. I am trying to find jobs in VHCOL area (Bay Area specifically) because my family/friends reside there. However, as I have no professional contacts at all in California, I have been feeling pretty lost with the process.

I am open to most settings, but what I am really hoping for is some flexibility in regards to vacation time (perhaps 2-3 months total in a year, can be split up), even at cost of lesser pay. I would imagine that this would be difficult to find with W2 positions, so I am not sure whether this means that I would have to take up some sort of 1099 gig and/or locums or 7d on/7d off schedule.

My ideal set-up would be 1099 gig which is around 0.8 FTE with block scheduling (ie. another 1099 contractor fills in for the 2-3 months that I am gone), but not sure whether jobs like this exist…

Which types of settings (e.g. correctional, inpatient, group outpatient practices, IOP, PHP etc) would be most amenable to what I want – ie. 1099 gigs with 0.8 FTE and/or 7d on/7d off? And how would you go about finding hospitals/groups that offer this?

I would appreciate any ideas. Thank you in advance

regardless what you do i would encourage you to take a big chunk of time off if you can afford it after you graduate next june. I enjoyed time away and studied for sept boards and then had an itch to get back into it around dec. I saved for this time but i was also single and spent a few months back home which was also nice. Feel those friends who went immediately into there jobs maybe look back and see it as a missed opportunity to have had time off.

 

[comp1]

If you are considering the VA, two things. The current restructuring heavily disfavors part time employees. Oddly it favors fee for service contracted MDs more. This has slightly higher pay, but essentially non-existent benefits. For either situation, you do kind of need to lead with this idea that you want to take 2-3 months off as a block. The VA has redundancies for this as so many employees are reservists and get deployed, but that leave is legally required. This would be very different. It is not impossible that a VA service would still be interested, but you want to check ahead of time. Recruitment for MDs is hard everywhere, so this still might not scare them off unless you are in a very saturated market and even then, the VA is a national program seeing patients all over the country from all over thr country so it still might not.

 

[TexasPhysician]

It seems like this would be easiest with 7 on and 7 off schedule. This will get you your time off that you desire without a problem.

Most jobs aren’t going to allow 8 weeks off/year and definitely not at one time. Even in academia when a faculty member saved up plenty of vacation, the university wanted to cap it at 6 weeks at a time.

 

[phantasmagoric]

Locums, or possibly W2, corrections or DSH would allow this.

eta: I missed the part about splitting up your time. You can make over $500k/year as either a locum or W2 at CDCR or DSH with this amount of time off. As a W2, you would have to do call, but you could make more than a locum with the addition of call. There are prisons and at least one DSH facility in the bay area.

Would CDCR or DSH offer any "block" scheduling (e.g. having 1 month off every 3-5 months) or at least 7on/7off schedules for 1099 (or even W2)?

For either situation, you do kind of need to lead with this idea that you want to take 2-3 months off as a block. The VA has redundancies for this as so many employees are reservists and get deployed, but that leave is legally required. This would be very different. It is not impossible that a VA service would still be interested, but you want to check ahead of time.

Yes, I will also reach out to the VA and express upfront what I am looking for. Worth a shot.

It seems like this would be easiest with 7 on and 7 off schedule. This will get you your time off that you desire without a problem.

Yes, the concensus seems to be that either locums or 7 on and 7 off schedule would be my answer. In genral, which settings in psychiatry more commonly offer 7 on 7 and 7 off schedule (or even 14 on 14 off or 14 hr shifts, if I may be so bold)?

Thank you everyone for your input.

 

[nexus73]

Would CDCR or DSH offer any "block" scheduling (e.g. having 1 month off every 3-5 months) or at least 7on/7off schedules for 1099 (or even W2)?



Yes, I will also reach out to the VA and express upfront what I am looking for. Worth a shot.



Yes, the concensus seems to be that either locums or 7 on and 7 off schedule would be my answer. In genral, which settings in psychiatry more commonly offer 7 on 7 and 7 off schedule (or even 14 on 14 off or 14 hr shifts, if I may be so bold)?

Thank you everyone for your input.

I talked to someone several years ago working inpatient in Duluth that was 14 on 14 off

 

[2025DandW]

CDCR and DSH do not offer 7 on 7 off. DSH is probably more flexible than CDCR. As a locums, you could just say I am not working December and June for example. For CDCR, this would need to be before starting. Right now, DSH could be more last minute, but you obviously need to be respectful. As a W2, you probably have more flexibility than the locums in terms of scheduling, but you still don’t have 7 on 7 off. At DSH, you get to telework one day a week, and both places allow 4-10s. So, as an example, you could work on site Monday, work from home Tuesday, work on site Wednesday and take Thursday or Friday as your day off.

 

[phantasmagoric]

CDCR and DSH do not offer 7 on 7 off. DSH is probably more flexible than CDCR. As a locums, you could just say I am not working December and June for example. For CDCR, this would need to be before starting. Right now, DSH could be more last minute, but you obviously need to be respectful. As a W2, you probably have more flexibility than the locums in terms of scheduling, but you still don’t have 7 on 7 off. At DSH, you get to telework one day a week, and both places allow 4-10s. So, as an example, you could work on site Monday, work from home Tuesday, work on site Wednesday and take Thursday or Friday as your day off.

Appreciate your insights. Unfortunate that CDCR and DSH does not offer 7 on 7 off. You mentioned that I could choose to not work December and June for example as locums. Am I able to specify that in the contract before I sign (or do you mean that I could take a month off between contracts)? Also, do you recommend working with locums agency or CDCR/DSH directly if I wanted to set something up like this?

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

 

[Stagg737]

Appreciate your insights. Unfortunate that CDCR and DSH does not offer 7 on 7 off. You mentioned that I could choose to not work December and June for example as locums. Am I able to specify that in the contract before I sign (or do you mean that I could take a month off between contracts)? Also, do you recommend working with locums agency or CDCR/DSH directly if I wanted to set something up like this?

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

I have no idea about the CA job market other than people on Reddit always complaining about how it's saturated, but for locums I would just contact several agencies to feel out what positions they have available and what they're paying. Locums generally pay hourly or by shift so either you'll agree on a schedule with them or you can just do it for X months and then extend it later or find a new locums position. Biggest downside to locums are the lack of ongoing stability in multiple domains (job setting, geographic location, availability, etc) and lack of benefits, but that's true of any 1099.

7/7 or 14/14 (if available) are great for people who like to take a lot of shorter vacations or have other jobs. One of our people does 7/7 covering our ER and helping with consults and is a personal trainer for a few clients on the week they're off. I feel like if you want to take 2-3 months off on a semi-regular basis that almost has to be locums. If you're wanting to do 3-4 weeks once a year, a lot of places could probably accommodate that once you've established yourself. Imo the biggest thing is making sure colleagues don't mind covering and can be supportive.

 

[Atreides]

CDCR definitely does offer 7 on 7 off for locums. I had a recruiter who pitched it to me a few years ago. It was at Salinas Valley State Prison. They were offering 330/hour at the time. One caveat; I think it was because they had some other guy who wanted 7 on 7 off so it may have been a deal dependent on two people agreeing to it.

 

[bGMx]

Is 14 on 14 off something people have seen? That's an attractive schedule to me.

 

[Stagg737]

Is 14 on 14 off something people have seen? That's an attractive schedule to me.

Yes, but only a small handful of times on inpatient units. This would be my ideal position if I didn’t have kids and value weekends so much. Most interesting schedule I’ve seen was overnight 7 on 14 off. I don’t remember the exact details but I believe it was for a psych ER paying around 300K per year.

 

[shoomer]

I do 7 on/7 off and enjoy it, but 14 straight days consistently sounds rough. I've done it before when swapping coverage and think it would be burnout-inducing for a full year.

 

[2025DandW]

CDCR definitely does offer 7 on 7 off for locums. I had a recruiter who pitched it to me a few years ago. It was at Salinas Valley State Prison. They were offering 330/hour at the time. One caveat; I think it was because they had some other guy who wanted 7 on 7 off so it may have been a deal dependent on two people agreeing to it.

CDCR definitely does offer 7 on 7 off for locums. I had a recruiter who pitched it to me a few years ago. It was at Salinas Valley State Prison. They were offering 330/hour at the time. One caveat; I think it was because they had some other guy who wanted 7 on 7 off so it may have been a deal dependent on two people agreeing to it.

Maybe someone else can chime in, but I don’t know anyone being allowed to do this. Maybe things have changed with the overall changes in psychiatry recruiting. Salinas Valley is actually one of the more in demand CDCR locations for locums, but even the less desirable locations, for example Susanville aren’t offering 7 on 7 off. Some fo offer part-time.

 

[2025DandW]

Appreciate your insights. Unfortunate that CDCR and DSH does not offer 7 on 7 off. You mentioned that I could choose to not work December and June for example as locums. Am I able to specify that in the contract before I sign (or do you mean that I could take a month off between contracts)? Also, do you recommend working with locums agency or CDCR/DSH directly if I wanted to set something up like this?

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

The best rates are from
individual doctors that have opened locums agencies. Otherwise, contact the usual suspects including LocumTenens.com. Dealing with the regular agencies, you would need to include your time off in your contract whether working for CDCR or DSH. I will say that most agencies would want you to take large chucks of time off between contracts. The individual doctors allow you to contract without putting your time in your contact at DSH, but their policy at CDCR is similar to the large agencies. Contracts are normally 6 months, so you could take a break every 6 months. You
should be good as long as you don’t fall out of CDCR’s favor. For locums, I guess you can reach out to DSH or CDCR to see what agencies they use, but I don’t know if CDCR would even know because everything thing goes through a middle management company called Management Solutions. You cannot directly contract with either DSH or CDCR. You can apply for a W2 job directly, but I have heard horror stories about CDCR’s hiring process. There are definitely a lot more people applying for positions at CDCR and DSH, making them more competitive than even a year ago, which could impact flexibility in the future.

 

[Atreides]

There are definitely a lot more people applying for positions at CDCR and DSH, making them more competitive than even a year ago, which could impact flexibility in the future.

Not surprised by this. CDCR salaries for inpatient are getting close to 500k, and that's before you start adding up the pension and other benefits.

 

[Ahamis]

Not surprised by this. CDCR salaries for inpatient are getting close to 500k, and that's before you start adding up the pension and other benefits.

Working on CDCR and DSH is not for all psychiatrists. It can be a very challenging population. Violence on DSH is high (nurses getting assaulted frequently).
About the administration, they usually hired the dumbest staff to become administrators. So you need to be ready to follow orders from the dumbest.

 

[phantasmagoric]

The best rates are from
individual doctors that have opened locums agencies. Otherwise, contact the usual suspects including LocumTenens.com. Dealing with the regular agencies, you would need to include your time off in your contract whether working for CDCR or DSH. I will say that most agencies would want you to take large chucks of time off between contracts. The individual doctors allow you to contract without putting your time in your contact at DSH, but their policy at CDCR is similar to the large agencies. Contracts are normally 6 months, so you could take a break every 6 months. You
should be good as long as you don’t fall out of CDCR’s favor. For locums, I guess you can reach out to DSH or CDCR to see what agencies they use, but I don’t know if CDCR would even know because everything thing goes through a middle management company called Management Solutions. You cannot directly contract with either DSH or CDCR. You can apply for a W2 job directly, but I have heard horror stories about CDCR’s hiring process. There are definitely a lot more people applying for positions at CDCR and DSH, making them more competitive than even a year ago, which could impact flexibility in the future.

Really helpful, thanks. Any recommendations for specific locums agencies opened by individual doctors, as you've mentioned above?

Can you clarify what you mean by "agencies would want you to take large chunks of time off between contracts"? I wonder if you could carve out an arrangement in which you take 2 month break (for example) between 6 month contracts, as to provide some sembalance of stability which is often lacking in locums.

If you prefer, we can also continue this conversation on DM. Once again, thanks for the insights.

 

[phantasmagoric]

To those who have worked in 7 on / 7 off roles in the past:

How feasible was it to get 14 day off in a row every 3 months or so - either by swapping coverage or tacking on 1 week of vacation time?

 

[Stumpyman]

To those who have worked in 7 on / 7 off roles in the past:

How feasible was it to get 14 day off in a row every 3 months or so - either by swapping coverage or tacking on 1 week of vacation time?

Very feasible if you have a good working relationship with your 7on/7off partner physician.

But also, that depends on the nature of the work. The 7 on 7 off schedule is usually for pure inpatient psych, and I personally have had a very difficult time finding jobs still offering pure inpatient with that schedule (it is very desirable). If the job includes outpatient work or is purely outpatient, it may be harder to swap and do 14 days on/off

 

[Stagg737]

Can you clarify what you mean by "agencies would want you to take large chunks of time off between contracts"? I wonder if you could carve out an arrangement in which you take 2 month break (for example) between 6 month contracts, as to provide some sembalance of stability which is often lacking in locums.

Not the OP, but I’m sure they mean that locums would not want you taking a month off during a 6 month contract. If vacation time is included in the locums contract you can take it how you agree. The ability to work a 6 month contract, take a few months off, then sign another contract is completely reasonable and one of the major draws to locums positions. However, there’s no guarantee the same contract would be available after the initial one is complete. There never is, which is one of the major drawbacks.

To those who have worked in 7 on / 7 off roles in the past:

How feasible was it to get 14 day off in a row every 3 months or so - either by swapping coverage or tacking on 1 week of vacation time?

Have not had the position, but know several who do/did. Typically you don’t get vacation time in 7/7 positions. The 7 off is your vacation. Switching and doing 14/14 every couple months is completely dependent on the people covering the other 7, but most people I know in those positions do this when they want longer vacations so I would expect you would have no problem doing this if you could find that position.

 

[TexasPhysician]

To those who have worked in 7 on / 7 off roles in the past:

How feasible was it to get 14 day off in a row every 3 months or so - either by swapping coverage or tacking on 1 week of vacation time?

It all depends on your partner. You don’t get vacation. You need to work every 7 days that are yours. If you partner is willing to do 14/14 periodically then I don’t think administration will care. They would have to agree though. Expect to cover half of the holidays each year too.

 

[2025DandW]

Not the OP, but I’m sure they mean that locums would not want you taking a month off during a 6 month contract. If vacation time is included in the locums contract you can take it how you agree. The ability to work a 6 month contract, take a few months off, then sign another contract is completely reasonable and one of the major draws to locums positions. However, there’s no guarantee the same contract would be available after the initial one is complete. There never is, which is one of the major drawbacks.



Have not had the position, but know several who do/did. Typically you don’t get vacation time in 7/7 positions. The 7 off is your vacation. Switching and doing 14/14 every couple months is completely dependent on the people covering the other 7, but most people I know in those positions do this when they want longer vacations so I would expect you would have no problem doing this if you could find that position.

Exactly what I meant.

 

[2025DandW]

Working on CDCR and DSH is not for all psychiatrists. It can be a very challenging population. Violence on DSH is high (nurses getting assaulted frequently).
About the administration, they usually hired the dumbest staff to become administrators. So you need to be ready to follow orders from the dumbest.

In terms of danger to psychiatrist, I don’t know that that is a real issue anymore. I would not want to be a psych tech. In terms of the administration, you think the senior psychiatrists and medical directors are dumb?

 

[phantasmagoric]

I really appreciate all of the responses.

I have just started my job search but, so far, have not found many places with 7on/7off in Bay Area. Does anyone know of any places that might offer this?

 

[Stumpyman]

In terms of danger to psychiatrist, I don’t know that that is a real issue anymore. I would not want to be a psych tech. In terms of the administration, you think the senior psychiatrists and medical directors are dumb?

Uhh, no it's a huge concern - danger to psychiatrists. Several colleagues have gotten assaulted at facilities statewide, it's not really a question of if but when. Of course, some folks go 20+ years never having been assaulted. It depends on practice style of course, but mostly luck. I don't think that aspect of the job should be discounted.

As for administration, that varies wildly by facility.

 

[comp1]

Psychiatrists are certainly at lower risk than nurses or techs, but still at quite high risk along with ED MDs. Correctional settings can be much safer or much more dangerous on average depending on policies. If patients are interviewed while in cells or remotely, it can be safer than the milieu of a typical inpatient psychiatric unit. If the jail/prison also has a milieu setting for interviews, it's typically much more dangerous. And of course the solution for dumb management at any given location is to apply to a management position yourself.

 

[mistafab]

I really appreciate all of the responses.

I have just started my job search but, so far, have not found many places with 7on/7off in Bay Area. Does anyone know of any places that might offer this?

I don't know the specifics of the bay area. However, usually to find 7 on 7 off you're looking for a run of the mill inpatient psych gig or a consults gig. Then you talk about your interest in 7/7 schedules with the prospective employer. They would need to essentially line up your "shadow" and may have some people in the pipe who have also indicated interest. They may have someone hired traditionally who has voiced interest in switching to 7/7 if they can find a counterpart.

Mostly, unless explicitly posted on a job, you need to find out directly from them if this is feasible. Being absent on a job posting does not mean it is impossible.

 

[splik]

I really appreciate all of the responses.

I have just started my job search but, so far, have not found many places with 7on/7off in Bay Area. Does anyone know of any places that might offer this?

those jobs are primary for undesirable locations whereas the Bay Area is one of the most popular locations for psychiatrists. You should assume any jobs that offer that there are undesirable. Most people don’t want to work half their weekends and holidays. The only place I know that was doing that in the Bay Area was st Francis. Check out vituity. And it definitely is an undesirable job but well paid.

TBH is the other company that does shift work. They used to operate on a 8-10 16 hour shifts a month so you would get at least 20 days off a month that way. Their compensation is not as competitive since they were sold and not kept apace but that kind of work (ie signing up for shifts) would allow you the kind of freedom you want if you’re willing to work 7am-11pm shifts

 

[phantasmagoric]

those jobs are primary for undesirable locations whereas the Bay Area is one of the most popular locations for psychiatrists. You should assume any jobs that offer that there are undesirable. Most people don’t want to work half their weekends and holidays. The only place I know that was doing that in the Bay Area was st Francis. Check out vituity. And it definitely is an undesirable job but well paid.

TBH is the other company that does shift work. They used to operate on a 8-10 16 hour shifts a month so you would get at least 20 days off a month that way. Their compensation is not as competitive since they were sold and not kept apace but that kind of work (ie signing up for shifts) would allow you the kind of freedom you want if you’re willing to work 7am-11pm shifts

Thanks for the leads. I already talked to TBH, but they did not have any openings for 7on/7off or 16 hours shifts in my desired area.

On a somewhat unrelated note.... I have previously thought (or perhaps hoped) that the Bay Area, which is obviously an otherwise very desirable place to live, would not be "one of the most popular locations for psychiatrists" simply because of the extreme COL. Is this not true? Especially since psychiatrists are relatively modestly paid compared to other specialties and high level tech workers.

In another question, you say that most people don't want to work half their weekends and holidays. In that case, 7 on/7 off should be considered "undesirable", so why are they offered primarily in undesirable locations where they are motivated to attract psychiatrists?

 

[TexasPhysician]

Thanks for the leads. I already talked to TBH, but they did not have any openings for 7on/7off or 16 hours shifts in my desired area.

On a somewhat unrelated note.... I have previously thought (or perhaps hoped) that the Bay Area, which is obviously an otherwise very desirable place to live, would not be "one of the most popular locations for psychiatrists" simply because of the extreme COL. Is this not true? Especially since psychiatrists are relatively modestly paid compared to other specialties and high level tech workers.

In another question, you say that most people don't want to work half their weekends and holidays. In that case, 7 on/7 off should be considered "undesirable", so why are they offered primarily in undesirable locations where they are motivated to attract psychiatrists?

Bay Area is quite desirable for psychiatrists. The average psychiatrist is more focused on maximizing lifestyle than salary. Many willingly accept lower pay to live where and how they wish. Bay Area is relatively saturated due to this. It is a safe bet to state that psychiatrists are most focused where COL is highest despite lower pay.

Many places don’t even consider 7 on/7 off with psychiatrists because they assume no one will want it. I’ve actually surprised an administrator when I brought up offering this as he assumed no one would want it, and it would just waste Indeed fees. It is a work schedule that is either loved or hated. When you have such a job, you need to find at least 2 takers. This adds complexity and difficulty when someone quits. Administrators don’t like to make their job harder. The end result is that more desirable locations typically avoid 7on/7off. More commonly it is undesirable locations that try this in hopes of finding the applicants willing to move to have the lifestyle they want. I have a single friend that literally flies to Mexico every other week to enjoy the beaches, food, and dating. For him, the location of his job doesn’t matter. He works to enjoy Mexico. If I worked such a shift, I’d miss half of my kids’ activities. The pay could be amazing, but until they head off on their own, I’m not taking such a schedule.

 

[Stagg737]

Bay Area is quite desirable for psychiatrists. The average psychiatrist is more focused on maximizing lifestyle than salary. Many willingly accept lower pay to live where and how they wish. Bay Area is relatively saturated due to this. It is a safe bet to state that psychiatrists are most focused where COL is highest despite lower pay.

Many places don’t even consider 7 on/7 off with psychiatrists because they assume no one will want it. I’ve actually surprised an administrator when I brought up offering this as he assumed no one would want it, and it would just waste Indeed fees. It is a work schedule that is either loved or hated. When you have such a job, you need to find at least 2 takers. This adds complexity and difficulty when someone quits. Administrators don’t like to make their job harder. The end result is that more desirable locations typically avoid 7on/7off. More commonly it is undesirable locations that try this in hopes of finding the applicants willing to move to have the lifestyle they want. I have a single friend that literally flies to Mexico every other week to enjoy the beaches, food, and dating. For him, the location of his job doesn’t matter. He works to enjoy Mexico. If I worked such a shift, I’d miss half of my kids’ activities. The pay could be amazing, but until they head off on their own, I’m not taking such a schedule.

This is spot on. I would take a 7/7 or ideally 14/14 position in a heartbeat if weekends with my family weren’t so important. Maybe I’ll switch to that someday when my kids are out of the house, but until then weekends and evenings are too valuable.

 

[2025DandW]

Uhh, no it's a huge concern - danger to psychiatrists. Several colleagues have gotten assaulted at facilities statewide, it's not really a question of if but when. Of course, some folks go 20+ years never having been assaulted. It depends on practice style of course, but mostly luck. I don't think that aspect of the job should be discounted.

As for administration, that varies wildly by facility.

I guess I will disagree. Some people are definitely more prone to attacks, but I actually think DSH is less dangerous than the average inpatient facility where you have people coming directly off the street, many times still intoxicated on methamphetamine or whatever substance they chose to use.

 

[aim-agm]

In some ways the VA might be your best bet. They'll usually grant a compressed tour of four 10 hours days, although getting a Monday or Friday as the day off could be difficult as those are the most desired ones. In theory, if you can get both days off in the same week of the 2-week pay period (i.e. work 5 days in one week and 3 in the other) or have different days off each week (i.e. Mon-Thu one week and Tue-Fri the other) you could get 4 days off in a row. You also accrue 8 hours of vacation time every 2 weeks, so using those as they come in you could generally have 5 days off in a row every other week in an ideal situation.
You also could take up to 79 hours in a year as unpaid leave without other consequence (i.e. you don't get paid for that time but you still accrue leave as normal, etc.)

*The government does technically allow for working six 12s and an 8 in the two week pay period, but I've never come across someone on that schedule at the VA. If you got it, were able to work 5 12s in 1 week, then an 8 and as 12 the next week with the 12 on a Monday or Friday, you could use your vacation time as you get it to get 6 days off in a row every other week. I would be amazed if they let you do that, but it is technically possible.

 

[comp1]

High COL areas are high COL because they are desirable. It's a positive feedback loop. Psychiatrists aren't outliers in wanting to live in desirable areas and the Bay Area is one of the most desirable. The problem with HCOL areas is hiring lower wage employees because they can't afford to live there. Psychiatrists (and physicians in general) CAN afford to live in the Bay Area and they most definitely do. It's saturated as heck for cash only in person practices. On the other hand, the SFVA sure is hiring! No idea if they can accommodate this, um, very unique vacation ask.